DMC: My Foundations
by Rhaza3517
Summary: The basis for 'Dreads and Devils' that could have become the stage for entering the Vandread Universe. Now, the first two chapters will be used as the cornerstones for where DMC could, and can, travel anywhere. Oh, the possibilities...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry; Capcom is that lucky person. I'm just making use of it to tell a little tale. Enjoy.

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Devil May Cry: Foundations

Chapter One: The Fall to Come

 _June 10, 2021, off the western coast of Sicily, Italy..._

The summer winds had been calm over the Mediterranean Sea since morning, but only until the invisible battle had begun. Then, the winds had become a raging tempest, and the sea had turned into an enraged, roiling beast of huge waves and crashing surf. For over an hour, the elements bellowed their discontented feelings at an unseen slight, and scientists all over the world could only wonder what in creation was going on. They soon received their answer when, to their disbelief, a huge portal of infernal light blazed into being overhead! Seconds later, a creäture seemingly made of stone, massive in size and bearing tattered wings on its back, fell through the gateway, and crashed hard into a sizable coral reef! An instant later, several points of light followed after the mysterious creäture from the portal, which slammed shut after them! With the closing of the portal behind the lights, the winds and the sea quickly began to calm down, forming up the background for the last movement to come.

'How had it comes to this!?' The giant stone figure mentally fumed, trying to steady his badly damaged form out of the sea. 'How could **his** descendants **still** have the power to defy _and_ defeat the King of Demons!? The stone giant, now revealed to be Mundus, the King of the Demonic Realm, and the one trying to again invade and conquer the mortal world, growled out his frustration at being thwarted yet again, only for a voice to shout at him... the voice of his enemy.

"Aw, come on, Mundy!" The swaggering tone of the Devil Hunter called out as he calmly sauntered into view. "It's not curtain time for you already, is it?" Once more, Mundus turned the gaze of his three blood-streaked eyes upon his hated foe, and spat out his accursed name.

"Dante... _Son of Sparda_..." Mundus spat.

"You know it, Mundy." The silver-haired, tall and lean, red trench coat-wearing form of Dante smirked back at the wounded Mundus. "What's this make the record between us now, huh? Three and oh in my favor, I believe...?"

"I think you mean, in our **family's** favor, 'brother.'" A snarky voice, sounding like Dante's, spoke just then. Dante frowned, looking over his shoulder in response at its owner. Using the sheathed length of his treasured Yamato blade to support himself, the familiar sight of Vergil, Dante's cold-hearted twin brother, came into view, his blue coat and face slightly worse for wear. Squinting at Vergil, Dante sent him a quip.

"You know, Vergil, we could have just left you where that Nelo Angelo armor of yours had left you hanging in the Tower." Vergil scowled back at Dante, even as Dante kept a close eye on how both he and the Demon Emperor were healing. Mundus was still damaged all over the place, but with the half of their parents' amulet in his grasp once more - and his human form restored after being freed from imprisonment under Mundus' thumb, - Vergil already looked better than he had before.

"You're right, Trish." Another voice sounded out, followed by the appearance of Nero, the former Order of the Sword devil hunter, his lightly glowing demonic right arm - his Devil Bringer - on his hip as Trish, one of Dante's devil-hunting allies, followed him over, as did Kyrie, Nero's betrothed. Trish was dressed in her regular leather top, pants, and boots, while Kyrie was wearing white robes like a cleric. "He _is_ ten times as grumpy as I am, and that's saying something." Trish and Kyrie  
snickered, prompting Vergil to arch an eyebrow at Nero.

"Acknowledging you as my son is one thing, Nero..." Vergil growled at the hoodie-clad former bearer of his own father's sword, now replaced by the devil-energy enhanced Red Queen over his shoulder. "... but, I am **far** more in control of my emotions than _you_ are. But, we digress, don't we, Lady?"

"No kidding." The multiple gun-clad form of Lady appeared behind Kyrie, reloading one of her handguns as her mismatched eyes glared at Mundus' battered form on the beach. "Fugly here still needs to be dealt with,... once and for all." At those decisive words, both Dante and Vergil spun on their heels, their heirloom blades flashing into place just under the chin of Mundus. The demonic claymore Rebellion in Dante's grip glowed from its skull eyes on its pommel, while the sleek katana Yamato in Vergil's grasp literally cut the air as it found its perch at Mundus' throat.

"You know what?" Dante said, his eyes mirroring those of his twin for the first time in a long time. "You've got that right, Lady. Trish, would you and Lady take Kyrie over behind those cliffs? What comes next..."

"... Is reserved **only** for the sons and descendants of Sparda." Vergil finished. Nero nodded, and turned to Kyrie.

"Go, Kyrie. We'll be along shortly. I promise." Kyrie nodded, kissing Nero on the cheek, before joining Lady and Trish as they walked off. With that, Nero turned back to where Mundus was still lying, his form pinned by Dante and Vergil's blades, and slowly pulled Red Queen from his back, joining his sword with those of Sparda's sons under the scarred chin of the fallen Demon Emperor.

"You **murdered** our mother..." Dante started, a shimmering red glow forming on his body and Rebellion.

"... **enslaved** me against my brother, **cursed** me to forget what my father left for us in his stead..." Vergil followed up, a crystal blue glow seething into being on his body, and enveloping Yamato's length.

"... and tried to use your own minions as fodder to resurrect yourself again when the former, mislead members of the Order failed with their murderous plan that involved _me_ , **and** Kyrie, as the core of their 'Savior.'" Nero finished, his Devil Bringer humming in tune with Red Queen as he revved its handle, flames running down its blade. Dante smirked as he looked at his two compatriots, then growled again at Mundus.

"All these centuries... all this pain... all because of your wish to rule the mortal world, and because Dear Old Dad _kicked_ your pompous **ass**." Dante barked down at the damaged Demon King, causing him to growl back, but unable to do anything with the three blades pinning him, and his own power so totally drained.

"Humanity is too _weak_ to survive...!" Mundus croaked out, only for him to be silenced as Vergil neatly slashed off one of the remaining fingers on his left hand. The defeated Demon King hissed in pain, but Vergil was unmoved.

"They will outlive _your_ petty existence." Vergil snarkily replied, prompting Dante to chime in.

"So, bro,..." The red trench coat-clad said to his twin. "... which one do you want to end this schmuck? Ebony or Ivory? I know those Summoned Swords of yours are decent, but in this case..." Dante's words trailed off as Vergil half-grinned at him.

"My moves are crisp and clean, Dante." Vergil responded. "Ivory, if you please." Effortlessly switching hands on Rebellion as he nodded at Vergil, Dante pulled out one of his personalized handguns - Ivory - and tossed it to his twin, who caught it and aimed it at Mundus. Dante then pulled out Ebony, Ivory's twin, with his left hand, and pointed its business end at Mundus. Nero followed suit, drawing out his double-barreled Blue Rose revolver, and completed their trio of death stances.

"Betcha' never thought it would end like this, did you, Mundus?" Nero quipped, which made Mundus reply with disdain to his waiting executioners.

"You fools..." The beaten Demon King rasped. "... it will _never_ end... the darkness will forever be jealous of the light that humanity was blessed with... and no matter how strong you all become,... no matter how hard you fight,... humanity will **lose** this world they call home... and the ones you care for _will_ die... ARRRRGH!"

Dante's stabbing of Rebellion into Mundus' shoulder stopped his tirade cold, and a firm twist of the grey claymore's blade made sure the Demon King was listening to his reply.

"All things die, sooner or later, Mundy..." Dante replied, cocking the hammer of Ebony in his grip, while Vergil did the same with Ivory, and Nero focused his gaze on the Demon King, Blue Rose at the ready. "... but, that never means giving up, or letting _beasts_ like you roam around when we can put you down."

"Consider this a last message from the Sons of Sparda, Mundus..." Vergil said, his blue aura intensifying along his twin's crimson glow, and the powerful hum of Nero's Devil Bringer. "... Damn you back to hell for all your crimes, and _this_ time, you will **not** be coming back. Like old times, Dante?" Mundus realized that his end was coming at last, and got ready to make a final plea, only for the trio to all yell out one word.

 **"JACKPOT!"**

The Demon King only got out a strangled cry of defiance before the end of his existence. " _ **No**_...!" was the last word Mundus, the ancient and multiple millenia-old King of Demons, spoke as three energy-charged rounds pierced into his three eyes, and the blades of the three devil hunters above him slammed into his rocky chest! The massive explosion that followed echoed across the Mediterranean. When the smoke from the blast soon cleared, it revealed Dante and Vergil in their Devil Trigger forms, and Nero enshrouded in the energy avatar of his Devil Samurai. The three devil hunters sheathed their swords, and Vergil tossed Ivory back to Dante, who holstered it on his back hip along with Ebony. Nero slid Blue Rose away into his chest holster, and they all soon reverted to their normal human forms. Moments later, Trish, Lady, and Kyrie all came walking over to see the results. The charred, lifeless stone form of Mundus lay there, not an ounce of demonic energy left in it to hold his essence to the mortal plane, or the demonic plane, even, for that matter. The Demon King was, at long last, dead and destroyed.

With that, the twin sons of Sparda looked at each other, then toward the clearing heavens above them. Sunlight streamed down through the thinning clouds, prompting both Dante and Vergil to say the same thing in perfect tandem. "Mother... Father... it's done, at last... rest in peace..." Looking at each other, Dante and Vergil finally fist-bumped each other, then did the same with Nero.

"So?" Trish chimed in, resting her chin and arms on Dante's shoulders, while Nero hugged Kyrie, and Lady kicked some sand at Mundus' dead body. "Where to from here, boys?"

"Where else?" Dante replied. "We find a hell of a party, get trashed, and then,... we get back to what we do best: killing demons and kicking ass!" At Dante's words, the entire group was shocked when Vergil chuckled in response.

"Wait a second...!" Lady said, wide-eyed as she looked at Vergil. "... did he, actually, _laugh_ , just now!?" Dante smiled as he looked at his brother.

"Found your sense of humor again, did you, Vergil?" Dante quipped, prompting Vergil to respond in kind.

"Never lost it, brother." Vergil half-smiled as he looked at Dante. "Just wanted to laugh at something amusing for once. Your other comedic routines stunk." The whole group burst out laughing at that statement, and Dante nodded at last.

"Yeah,..." The red trench coat-clad devil hunter said as he extended his hand toward his brother. "... _that's_ the old Vergil. Welcome back." Vergil finally smiled widely as he took his brother's hand and firmly shook it.

"I see you missed me, Dante." Vergil replied, looking over his shoulder at Nero with an upraised eyebrow. "And you, Nero,...?"

"Yeah,... old man?" Nero replied with his usual swagger, prompting Vergil to squint an eye at the young man he now knew to be his son.

"Boy,..." Vergil replied. "... I _will_ make a true swordsman out of you, even if it kills you, again and again." Nero grinned in response. Kyrie scolded Vergil back.

"Gods, are you always this _harsh_ with your family?" At that, Dante and Vergil laughed out loud, before Dante answered Kyrie's retort.

"Kyrie, you ain't seen _nuthin'_ yet." At Kyrie's gasp to Dante's response, Vergil continued on.

"If Nero is to carry on our legacy as a descendant of Sparda, Kyrie, he _will learn_ to fully control his Devil Bringer and his powers, and the absolute best way to do that is to master the way of the sword." Vergil eyed his son up and down before walking over to lightly jab Nero in the stomach with Yamato's pommel. " I will _enjoy_ showing you just what areas your sword skills are lacking in, my student. Be prepared." Nero gulped, while Lady just rolled her eyes.

"Can we go now? I could use a shower." Dante looked over in Lady's direction, ready to fire off a quip, only for Trish to tap his shoulder.

"No snarky comments, wise-ass." Trish said. "Remember what happened to your last trench coat when you said something about Lady's backside?" Dante frowned, but nodded at Trish's wisdom. His bullet-ridden jacket was still hanging in his closet, thanks to Lady's reaction to his quip back then.

"Ah, good point." Dante then called over to Vergil. "Verge!" Vergil looked back at Dante. "You think Yamato's got enough juice to cut open a portal back to the shop and save us all a long walk home?" Vergil frowned.

"Of course,..." Vergil replied. "... but, you're springing for food... for all of us, brother, and _no skimping_." Dante shook his head in response.

"Damn... glad I made sure Enzo started keeping an eye on the money I did invest with his holdings...and that they paid off at last." Dante grumbled as Vergil drew Yamato, and with one clean stroke, slashed it through the air, opening a teleport portal back to Dante's shop, _'Devil May Cry.'_

"March, all of you." Vergil groused. "I am worn out." As the group stepped through the portal one by one, Dante was the last one through, and as he looked back at Mundus' stone form one last time, the devil hunter whipped out both Ebony and Ivory from their holsters! A pair of energy-charged rounds blasted from Dante's weapons, shattering the dead Demon King's body into ash! Spinning his handguns once before putting them away again, Dante growled out a curse before stepping through the portal and going back to his shop.

"Twist in the Abyss forever,... you damn piece of **garbage**..." Those words echoed out across the beachhead as the portal vanished from sight.

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 _Undisclosed location, United States..._

The small group of military men sat at their computer consoles, watching what satellite images they were still able to receive, and trying to comprehend just what exactly had happened across the Atlantic. A group of six people had literally torn apart a huge stone giant with wings, with words like 'devil' and 'demon' passing their lips, and using weapons that emitted energy that could only be described as arcane. The commander in the room, a General, looked at his aide, a Colonel, and spoke in even tones to him.

"Just _who_ are these people, Colonel?" The General groused. "I've never seen such skill and power in any group of individuals!"

"Neither have I, sir." The Colonel replied. "Our files on each one of these people that we've seen are extremely thin, sir, but these two,..." The Colonel continued, pointing at pictures of Dante and Vergil. "... are no doubt twins, and have been sighted several times when there have been mass casualties in areas of highly suspected supernatural occurrences."

"More devils and demons..." The General said, rubbing his temples. "... well, Colonel, what do you make of their mêlée weapons?"

"Capable of rending tank armor with no effort, sir." The Colonel replied, before handing the General a blurry picture of the blue-garbed man slicing through rows of strange creatures with effortless strokes of his katana. "If intel is correct here, sir, this one's sword,... well, sir, our experts say that it was literally cutting through the fabric of time and space, due to the spatial readings we picked up."

"Unbelievable... can we acquire them for evaluation?" The General asked, only for the Colonel to shake his head.

"Not recommended, sir." The Colonel said. "Estimated losses in attempting to do so are unacceptable, and it's highly possible that they are somehow 'linked' to their owners in some fashion. If we were to try such an operation..."

"They would not like it one bit. Understood." The General replied. "In the meantime, keep a full surveillance team on this 'Devil May Cry' locale. Any intel they can gather on their operations is of paramount importance."

"Will do, sir." The Colonel saluted as he headed off to carry out his orders... and to make contact with his brethren in the reformed Order of the Sword. They needed to know that now, with Mundus destroyed, the sons of Sparda and their allies were now being closely watched by the government... and for all the wrong reasons.

End

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Well, here is my latest re-invention: a foundation story that contains the original first two chapters for my 'Dreads and Devils' cross-over between Devil May Cry and Vandread. Just so that you know, the DmC reboot game does not happen here, but elements and visual representations from it will be used to further the story, i.e. the look of Ebony and Ivory from DmC being more futuristic looking than Dante's original guns from the main gameline. Also, the heroes will NOT be Dante or Vergil, but they will be featured in one way or another, as wil the others of the series up to DMC 4. Comment and chat as you will, and as they say, let the games begin!

 _Next time..._

 _The military meets with Dante and company... and events of the future come into play along the way..._

Chapter Two will be posted here soon once I've edited it through.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry; that's Capcom's property. I'm just having fun putting my spin on things.

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Devil May Cry: Foundations

Chapter Two - Drawing Lines in the Sand

 _August 20,2031, outside, Houston, Texas..._

Driving at a decent pace, a disguised military escort and its assigned VIP headed away from the private military summit that had just concluded in town. They were soon on a major highway out of the city, on their way to their SECOND meeting for the day, at a hidden place outside of town, and with a group of people who had been under surveillance for the past ten years. Looking at the files before him, the Army General slowly reviewed all that had been gathered of the six people described in them: twin brothers, with superhuman abilities and supernatural weapons beyond comprehension; a blonde-haired woman with similar skills; another young man, bearing a strange right arm and weapons that looked like a seamless cross between the Middle Ages and the 21st century; a brunette, laden down with pistols, sub-machine guns, and a huge rocket launcher on her back, and a lovely red-headed woman dressed like she belonged in the medical wards. 'What a bunch these people are.' The General mused, right when another voice sounded out.

"Sir?" The passenger next to the driver of the town car spoke up from the front seats. "According to the coördinates our 'hosts' gave us, we're twenty minutes away from our destination."

"Good, Lieutenant; keep a sharp eye out." The General replied. Just then, a ripple of light surrounded the entire convoy! "What the hell...!" was all the General could say before darkness claimed him.

XXXXXX

When the General came to, he found himself seated in a comfortable chair, in a large warehouse foyer. Flood lights from the corners of the spacious area were shining, and as the General's senses returned to normal, he realized that he was looking right at two of the people from his files... the silver-haired twins. The General also noticed that he was not restrained, but he no longer had his service pistol.

"Apologies for the abrupt methods in bringing you here, General..." The silver-haired twin in the blue trench coat spoke up. "... but my brother and I here are somewhat hesitant to trust authority figures with so many firearms aimed at us. Surely, you can understand our stance on such a matter."

"You mean, Vergil..." The second twin in the red jacket groused to his twin. "... that _we_ prefer to the ones ahead of the game, not behind the eight ball." Looking at the General, he kept on speaking. "Your surveillance teams ain't got nothing on us, _sir_."

"What!?" The General exclaimed. "You knew you were being watched!?" Vergil nodded as Dante put his feet up on the table before them.

"My brother and I can sense hidden demons with ease, General." Vergil spoke, placing the sheathed Yamato across his lap. "We detected your men moving into place the hour they arrived near Dante's shop." The General gulped, prompting Vergil to raise his hands to placate the military man. "We are not here to begin any fighting, General, but we _are_ here to make sure that none of us get turned into lab specimens." At those words from Vergil, Trish and Nero seemed to appear out of thin air nearby. Then, one by one, each one exuded their demonic auras toward the General, who visibly paled in his chair.

"All of us here, in one way or another, over the last thirty or so years,..." Dante said, his eyes now ablaze with power. "... have helped keep humanity safe from the demonic realm and their minions, General. And that legacy, started with our father, over two thousand years ago. Your intel departments may have heard of him; he was known as the Legendary Dark Knight, ... _Sparda_." The General's eyes widened. "Good; you _do_ know our heritage." Vergil spoke up again, gesturing with his head to Dante and Nero. "Now, we are going to discuss how things are going to continue on, seeing as our group finally put down the Demon King Mundus ten years ago, and we have made sure that no other demon or devil attempts to gain power like he had when this all started."

"Why can't you all simply enlist with the government? Your skills would be invaluable to us...!" The General began, only for Dante to break out into a throaty laugh at the comment. When he finally stopped, he skewered the General with a glare that almost made the military man lose control of his bowels.

"We're demon hunters, lame-brain. _not_ hired guns, or soldiers that you can simply sic on your enemies." Dante growled, even as he drew Rebellion from over his shoulder and stabbed its point into the ground. "We don't do politics. We keep the demons from running wild and conquering the world, as well as beating the hell out of any human too stupid to realize that they can't control a demon's power without consequences that no human being can withstand."

"I've seen first-hand what happens when humans think that the demons can be put under their thumb, General." Nero chimed in, right as Kyrie and Lady walked into view, and Kyrie's hand laced her fingers into the clawed palm of his Devil Bringer. "It does not, and _will never_ , end well for humanity."

"How can you _know_ that...?" The General said, looking over at Nero, only for his Devil Bringer to glow brightly again, and to receive get a glare from Kyrie and Lady.

"The 'former' members of the group I once called my allies, tried to use my body and spirit to fuel their giant 'Savior' in their plan to bring in more worshipers, as well as to harness more demonic powers." Kyrie coldly said to the General. "They also murdered my brother." The General shrank back a bit at that, despite his military experiences, which prompted Nero to chime in.

"Kyrie walked down the aisle to our wedding without Credo to give her away to me, General. Dante was kind enough to fill that void, but it will never bring her only brother back to her in this lifetime." Nero stated, his eyes cold with disgust. Right on cue, Lady spoke to the General.

"MY father tried to resurrect a demonic tower from when Sparda defeated the demons all those centuries ago, and sealed them away from humanity, just so he could become a god himself." The General had trouble maintaining his gaze against the colors of Lady's intense heterochromatic eyes, and the scar on her nose. "Dante and Vergil took him down, returning their father's power to where it belonged, and I ended him for what he tried to do,... and for killing my mother when he started his  
insane bid for power."

The General could scarcely believe what he had heard so far. That these people before him, had faced and destroyed several world-shattering events, and all under the nose of the public, was nothing short of unbelievable. And yet, the General could not find a way to disprove it, especially after seeing with his own eyes how they had defeated the stone giant that had once been the Demon Emperor Mundus ten years past. Looking at the faces of the twin sons of Sparda, the General gathered himself, and spoke up.

XXXXXX

"Well, gentlemen,..." The military man said, straightening up in his chair and composing himself as the veteran military man he was. "... where would you like to start, seeing as you all seem to have every angle covered?" Dante and Vergil both looked at each other, and smiled.

"Now, General, sir..." Vergil commented, even as Dante shouldered Rebellion. "... We start teaching the human race how to be worthy heirs to what Sparda, and we, have all done for them, starting with the U.S. Government, and the United Nations. Neither of us can do that alone." The General's jaw dropped.

"Do you actually, **want** , to address the U.N.!?" He exclaimed, which was followed up by Dante grinning wider.

" _Bingo_ , man." The younger son of Sparda replied, even as the others drew up chairs from the room's corners and sat down with them. "We want _everyone_ to know that's it's high-time for the people in power to really start pulling their own weight. As great as this planet of ours is, it won't last forever without them getting their butts in gear, and taking care of it as we all should."

"What about threats from other countries? Lawyers? International law...?" The General began, hoping to show the group a measure of the obstacles before them, but Vergil stopped him cold, stamping the ground with Yamato's sheathed edge.

"No more _stalling_ , General." The elder son of Sparda groused. "I've seen enough of such legal and pointless maneuvering to last me **ten** lifetimes. This world that our father saved, and which we have saved **again** in his stead, will _no longer_ suffer at the greedy hands of land barons, oil tycoons, and useless bureaucrats. If it were up to me, if I was still the cold-hearted killer of my past,... I would **end** them all, and put far more effective people in those positions to do what needs to be done."

The General was shocked at Vergil's bold words, but Dante waved him off, right as another, very smooth female voice chimed in from the rafters. "Luckily for you, General, sir,..." The owner of said voice spoke as she came into view, floating down from the rafters above and landing behind Vergil, and revealing herself to be the warrior-demon woman Lucia, who had aided Dante's defeat of Argosax the Chaos, and her hated creator, Arius. "... Vergil has mellowed out somewhat." The high collared blouse Lucia wore was now emblazoned with an intricate blue runic design, as was her hand with the glint of the flawless deep blue sapphire ring on the ring finger of her left fingerless glove.

"General,..." Dante chuckled. "... meet Lucia, Vergil's _wife_ , and the counter-agent to his darker tendencies, whenever they pop up." The younger son of Sparda grinned as the General paled even further at that revelation.

" _Mio Estrella_..." Vergil addressed his wife as she laid a hand on his shoulder, while sitting on the chair's open armrest. Lucia nodded in response, before speaking up to the General again. "What my husband has said is truth, General." Lucia stated, her eyes never wavering as she stared at the military man. "The work of the underground group that I, and many others like it, have done over the last few _centuries_ in keeping humanity safe from the demonic realm, and from itself, speaks for itself. It is time that those in power, like the position you hold, get off their collective _asses_ and start **helping** out."

The military man's face was a white as a ghost. "You're asking the government, and others like it, to start being _more_ helpful? How can we do that, when you and your cohorts are unwilling to share...!" The General tried to say, only for Nero **and** Lady to leap over Vergil and Dante! Nero planted the edge of Red Queen a hair's width from the General's crotch, his Devil Bringer humming fiercely as it gripped the modified Durandal blade, while Lady stuck one of her pistols right under the General's chin, its hammer already cocked and ready to fire.

" _Share_...!?" Nero growled, his Devil Bringer glowing brighter. "NO other persons, besides the ones here in this room, _have_ the **humanity** , to use the power that _Sparda_ himself left to his descendants, and _only_ **them**!" Lady glared at the General as her hand gripped her pistol.

"Maybe you weren't listening, General..." She growled. "... but I killed my _father_ for murdering my mother to further his agenda with the demons. I have _no_ problem putting greedy military officers in the ground for trying the same thing." The older son of Sparda chuckled to himself.

"Well said, my apprentice; Lady." Vergil replied, gently tapping his wife's hand on his shoulder as he stood up to glare at the General with them. "Nero's words are **law** to us, General. Only we, the Sons of Sparda, the guardians who fought with him against the demons so long ago, and our allies, will decide how to fully use the ancient knowledge, power, and weapons that he left for us to use in humanity's good graces. _No other_." Dante also stood up to join his twin.

"Yeah, what he said." Dante said, his hands on his hips. "Anyone who tries to force us to play by _their_ rules, will see that it's utterly **stupid** to piss us off. Case in point, military man: that Demon King murdered our mother. If Vergil and I can muster up the power to off him once and for all, what can you and the world's militaries possibly throw at us that we won't just shrug off, and come back for more?"

The General bowed his head, cowed at last. The few videos that he had seen of some of the battles that had been recorded of Vergil and Dante fighting against demons of many types, made Dante's point clear. No military on Earth truly had the power to fight back against Vergil and Dante... not if they _really_ wanted to destroy humanity. So, he now had to accept their proposal, or risk losing possibly the most valuable commodity on Earth besides air... the world's greatest demon hunters.

"Well, then, the first person you all should speak with, is the President of the United States." The General relented. "That will give us time to vet all the intel we have for the other nations in the U.N. Security Council, and be ready for any questions that they will have for you."

"As long as our terms are held up, General..." Vergil stated, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a sealed tube, before handing it to the military man with a matter of fact look on his face. "... everything should fall right into place. Agreed?"

The General nodded. "Agreed; I assume you will contact us when you know we're ready?" The General half-frowned as he asked that. Vergil nodded.

"Yes, General. A representative from Uroborus will be in touch with the State Department within the week." Vergil looked at Lucia after he spoke. "That enough time for everything to be in place, _Mio Estrella_?"

"Plenty of time, husband." Lucia replied. "Matier and the needed members of the Order of the Sword will be ready."

"Well, you've got your marching orders, General, so to speak." Dante quipped as he stood up, pausing only to let his eyes glow toward him. "Keep it all on the level, and no one will be in danger of becoming shish-kabob."

"I understand, gentlemen." The General said. "Now, about returning my men and I to our vehicles...?" Vergil smiled, and winked at Lucia. A flash of light enveloped the General once more, and when he was able to see again, he was back in his escort town car, his bodyguards and aides with him again. Checking his watch, the General saw that over twenty minutes had elapsed, but the nearby digital clock on the aide's laptop showed that only _one_ minute had gone by. Keeping his facial expression neutral, the General inwardly shuddered. 'They mean business.' He thought. 'I'd better keep up my end of this agreement, or those two might drop in without warning. The Joint Chiefs are going to be up my ass on this, but _no way_ am I going to try anything underhanded. They'd _know_.' Straightening his dress uniform, the General continued to think about what the group of devil hunters had told him, and how he was going to make their goals a reality.

XXXXXX

 _Washington, D.C., at the White House, three days later..._

After the morning briefing, the President walked into the Oval Office with his security team, and double-checked his schedule. Ever since President Hillary Clinton had been elected to the highest office in the land back in 2016, and then to a second term right after that one, both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government had quickly gotten the unspoken message from her: get, to, work, now.

Filibusters were totally overrun in Congress, and political fighting between Democratic and Republican parties had been completely taken out of the equation. Huge amounts of beneficial laws and programs had finally gotten off the ground, and the economy was running at a very strong pace. As much as many lobbyists and other third parties tried, President Clinton did not budge; she wanted - and got - things done. Now, one term removed from her well-accomplished tenure, one of her advisory staff's extremely skilled members had hit the presidential campaign trail after her, and succeeded in getting elected as well. Although close to the end of his first term, the lack of scandals and crossed enemies was literally ensuring re-election. And now, a meeting with the twin devil hunters was on the books before him... a considerable coup, indeed.

"Mr. President?" One of the Secret Service agents spoke up as he pressed his finger to his earwig. "Our guests have arrived in the east garden."

"Via the way that was mentioned in the General's package?" The President replied as he looked over the prepared briefing on his desk.

"Yes, sir." The Secret Service agent replied to his Commander-in-Chief. "And, as stated in their papers,... armed." The agent's annoyed tone was easily clear to the Commander-in-Chief.

"Couldn't be helped." The President responded. "The reports from the initial meet firmly suggested that those weapons are as much a part of them as the arcane blood in their veins. All right, then; let's get this meeting started."

"Yes, sir." The agent replied, tapping his earwig. "Team Three, show them in through the selected route. Any signs of the press catching on?"

"No, sir." The reply quickly came. "All clear. En route, be at the Oval Office in five."

"Understood." The first agent said, before informing the President, who had moved to sit at the couches. "Five minutes, sir." The President nodded, setting his papers up as he waited for his guests, who walked in right on time.

"Mr. President." The agent said as his earwig beeped, prompting him to open the main door to the Oval Office. "Dante and Vergil, the Sons of Sparda." As the door swung open, the silver-haired twins, their heirloom blades with them, slowly walked into the Oval Office, glancing around it before fixing their calm eyes on the President.

XXXXXX

"Mr. President; happy to meet your acquaintance." Dante said, keeping his sarcasm in his back pocket. Human or not, the Commander-in-Chief deserved respect for being just that. Surprisingly, Vergil was also cordial, keeping Yamato in his left hand as he extended his other to greet the man.

"Indeed it is, Mr. President." Keeping his anxiety low, the President shook Vergil's hand in response.

"Pleasure to meet you both." Turning towards the couches in the Oval Office, the President said, "Please, have a seat." The President's offer was answered by both of the silver-haired men nodding, then seating themselves down on the opposite couch across from the President. Dante carefully rested Rebellion to his side, the imposing claymore seeming to be right at place by its master, while Vergil set Yamato across his lap. The President couldn't help but shudder with a glance at the demonic claymore, and admire the elegance of the sheathed katana.

"Is it true, Mr. Vergil,..." The President asked. "... that, that katana there, can literally cut through the fabric of space-time? I've seen a few reports about those weapons of yours in the time that we were preparing for our meeting here, but to see such a weapon right in front of me..." Vergil nodded in response.

"First, Mr. President, 'Vergil' is perfectly fine." The eldest son of Sparda stated to the leader of the United States. "Second, the answer is yes. Yamato, as one of our father's heirloom weapons left to us, is also able to cut through any and all materials lesser than its own, and with such speed, that only warriors like Dante and I are able to detect its movements. Rebellion is its battle twin: where Yamato exemplifies speed and precision when I wield it in battle, Rebellion is raw power and strength in Dante's hands." Dante half-frowned.

"Condescending much?" Dante groused at his twin. "Even if you're right, bro." Vergil smirked, then laid Yamato on the table before him, leaning back as he did.

"Go ahead, Mr. President." Vergil offered. "My blade will allow you to see a portion of its edge, as long as your agents don't decide to shoot us." At the President's assurance, the agents nodded. Then, the President gripped the katana's handle, and gently pulled it a foot out of its sheath. The blade's surface was perfectly mirrored, the edge imperceptibly sharp, and its design utterly flawless. The President could clearly see his reflection, and let loose the only word that came to his  
mind. "... _Magnificent_..." Vergil smiled as the President slid Yamato back into its sheath, set it back on the table, and sat back. Vergil silently retrieved his blade, then mirrored the President's comment.

"Indeed, Yamato is just that, as is Rebellion to Dante." Dante nodded as he sat forward to join the conversation.

"As Verge told the General, Mr. President, we are here for a reason." The red-jacketed devil hunter spoke up. "We've been guarding and protecting humanity from the demons who seek to enslave them,... and from themselves, if their desire for the power of a devil is far too strong for them to resist. Verge, of course, had a few bad years along the way, but now, he's cooled off a bit." Dante grinned even as his brother growled at him. "Especially now that Lucia is an ear for him to air out any and all grievances he comes across over time."

"I see. Very clearly now; I see." The President replied, returning his focus to their meeting. "Well, then, gentlemen, shall we get down to business?" Both devil hunters grinned at that, and answered the President in perfect tandem.

"Yes; let's do that."

End Chapter Two

* * *

 _The groundwork has been laid..._

 _Devil May Cry and its allies have stated their case..._

 _How will humanity react to their plans...?_

Keep your eyes out for what happens in my other stories now that my ground work has been set!

Comments and information readily accepted!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry; it belongs to Capcom. I'm just using it here to make a new story from my own vivid imagination. Enjoy, my friends.

Devil May Cry: Foundations

Chapter Three: Reminiscing About The Past

XXXXXX

 _ _\- Undisclosed location, planet Earth, Sol System, several centuries into the future... -__

High in the heavens above a solitary world, the lonely lunar satellite of Earth continued its reclusive journey in the empty skies above its planetary parent, as it had done for millions of years since their creation. Its deep and ancient moonbeams shone down on the planet below, but they did not reveal the wondrous blue-green gem that Earth had been for so long. Now, the encompassing moonlight displayed a darkened and barren world, barely able to support any life at all. Earth was, at long last, approaching its fabled end of days, although without the recited destruction of mankind, and with only a few particular individuals still remaining behind on the dying world. These beings had chosen to stay behind as the majority of humanity finally left its beloved cradle of life to journey out into and amongst the starlit void, heeding the prominent warnings from those same beings that humanity needed to prepare to leave its ancient birthplace in order to survive into the future yet to come.

Across the lifeless oceans of acidic water that had once surrounded the fertile islands that had composed the nation of Japan, perched high upon the mid-range slopes of Mt. Fuji itself, a modest two-story house of mixed Western and Far Eastern design stood alone midst the bare cliffs and trodden paths that were once covered with snow and living soil. Only the lights of the home's large sitting room seemed to be lit at the moment, and its sole occupant stood by one of its wide windows, looking out over what had once been the jeweled crown of humanity's solar system, silently pondering what was to come. The figure stood by the windowsill in the house's sitting room, making no sound at all, with one arm and its elbow braced against the window frame to balance his stance. The other arm remained bent as its hand held a crystal glass tumbler half full of amber liquid as his eyes looked over over the somber desolation in the distance. Clad in black leather pants, calf-high combat boots, a maroon red sleeveless vest, and black finger-less gloves, the man sighed as he shook his silvery mane of hair on his head, than drank down a portion of his beverage, furrowing his brow as he resumed thinking out loud to no one in particular.

"Betcha they never thought all those decades ago, that it would come down to this, after all these centuries.…." The man said to the air as he intensely stared out the window for a time. "After all that time... innovation and progress for a solid thousand years, only to be undone within two centuries by conflicts that we thought were finally dead and buried." The man sighed out loud, then finished off his drink and set the glass on the coffee table to his side, before resuming his staring out the window at what was once a pristine lake in the distance at the base of the ancient mountain. "I guess it truly is like what they said about us in the past….. 'humanity is a strange beast indeed to behold'….." The unknown man chuckled to himself before retrieving his glass and rinsing it out, placing it on the wet bar nearby as he began smirking, his thoughts reaching out to remember the long-departed bards of old.

Presently, a tingling feeling passed over the man's skin, and his eyes briefly glowed crimson as he recognized just who had stepped over and through the arcane protections surrounding the property he and his comrades had called home for so long. A smile crossed his face as he heard the door to the sitting room sliding open behind him. "Well?" He asked out loud, never bothering to turn around as he kept looking out the window. "How was the trip….. _Verge_?" Behind the man, a gruff "Hmph." was all that passed through the air before the man turned to see the one he had called Verge. After all, only one person was allowed to actually use that nickname for the new arrival, who was none other than Vergil, eldest son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, feared Dark Slayer, and the twin brother to the one who had addressed him: his younger twin, the brash and authority-bucking Dante. Dante then took note that Vergil was not alone; with him was his haughty and beloved wife, Lucia, the former Vie de Marli warrior and artificial 'Secretary' female demon who had tamed and brightened the cold and once-empty heart of his older brother. "Yo, Lucia. What's shaking?" He said, flipping her a jaunty salute.

The red-haired woman nodded at Dante before walking over and slugging him in the shoulder, then striding to the liquor cabinet and filling up a pair of glasses for herself and Vergil as the Dark Slayer strode over to his personal high-backed chair and sat down. As always, Yamato - his treasured space-time slicing katana and heirloom keepsake from the twins' father - rested near his right hand, ready to be drawn for battle in the blink of an eye. Lucia walked over, seated herself on Vergil's left knee, smiled at him, then handed him his glass before clinking it with hers and sampling the liquor. Dante just smirked at them; like his older brother, his keepsake weapon, the demonic claymore Rebellion, was resting against the wall near him, waiting to join its master in battle once again. Lucia then finally answered Dante as she finished her drink. "We are well, brother-in-law. As for my husband, see for yourself." At that reply, the younger Son of Sparda looked at his brother again, then smiled broadly as he noticed the change in his attire. Slung atop Vergil's left shoulder, where it was normally just his streamlined blue overcoat, now sat a engraved silver pauldron complete with three golden cords wrapping down and under his arm. To Dante, that meant Vergil's most recent foray away from their secluded and well-guarded estate had been successful.

"As always, __Mio Estrella__ speaks truth, Dante." The smooth voice of Vergil glided from his mouth as he also quickly drank and finished off his beverage. "I have completed my arcane trials flawlessly, and now, I hold the coveted rank of Grand Infernal Magus." Dante nodded and flipped his brother a double thumbs-up. Ever since he and Vergil, along with their allies - Vergil's son Nero, the former Holy Knight of the Order of the Sword; Kyrie, Nero's beloved wife and Songstress; Trish, the former demon servant of Mundus who rebelled and aided Dante in the Demon Emperor's defeat on Mallet Island; and Lady, the last human descendant of the priestess who had aided Sparda in sealing off Mundus, the Temen-ni-guru demonic tower, and the Demon Realm itself from the Human Realm, - had brought down the Demon Emperor Mundus over ten centuries ago once and for all, the Sons of Sparda and their allies had become not only true master demon and dark monster hunters, but had dedicated themselves to pursuing other areas of expertise that further cemented the legacy of Sparda. Their appearance and coming out at the White House in Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations shortly after that, proved beyond all doubt that humanity needed to put away their petty differences and come together, marking the first steps over many obstacles to come.

XXXXXX

Beyond their fighting abilities and demonic heritage, the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight had not truly discovered any particular niche in life that they could master up to that point. It had all been going from one battle onto the next, carving away the foul sickness that the demons represented to humanity, and ensuring that humanity never again attempted to control or draw such creatures and their uncontrollable power under their command. After the final defeat of Mundus, the complete reorganization of the Order of the Sword, and the revival of Vie de Marli that brought the vast resources of the Uroboros Corporation once commanded by the defeated sorcerer Arius under their control, Dante, Vergil, and their allies set out to find what completed them all. With Uroboros strengthening those claims day by day, each one of them would soon learn that each of them possessed a calling that had been waiting for them for as long as their fight against the Demon Realm had been going on.

Dante had surprised Vergil in many ways when he had taken his older brother aside and told him that he did not want them to fall into the same trap that had taken them from each other when the Temen-ni-guru had first resurfaced on Earth a thousand years ago, the same bloody trap that had pitted brother against brother for control of the tower, and the vast powers belonging to their father that had sealed the demonic edifice away. Truly seeing who his younger sibling had become at that moment, for the first time since his own rescue from enslavement under Mundus, Vergil clasped hands with Dante and joined him in using their legendary heritage to lay claim to their father's legacy at the same time: their father's legendary blade, the Force Edge itself. In doing so, the vast energies that had sealed away Mundus and his minions from Earth that had belonged to Sparda himself accomplished three amazing things; first, creating a single Master Hell Gate to the Demonic Realm that would open to no other beings, save for the Sons of Sparda or higher beings above them; second, completely obliterating any other possible way to the Demonic Realm except for death or banishment from the normal planes of existence; and third, channeling the vast energies that the Force Edge had commanded for so long - along with the energies collected from the defeat of Mundus by the Sons of Sparda and Nero through the rite of conquest - directly into Dante, Vergil, and even Nero, a true-blooded descendant of Sparda as well. Their determined efforts knocked them out cold for days.

When the trio finally awoke from that event, they found themselves all lying in hospital beds, with Trish and Lady looking over Dante, Lucia checking over Vergil, and Kyrie fussing over Nero, telling them all that an entire week had passed since then. The result of the Force Edge channeling the vast energies of their father through them, combined with Mundus' own expended power, had greatly increased all of their abilities, while awakening a new level of innate understanding and acceptance of their heritage and its vast history. It also brought to the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight probably the most important piece to their future: the Grand Infernal Grimoire of Sparda himself, as well as the summoning knowledge to find and collect anything and everything that Mundus himself had taken and kept to himself over the several millenia of his existence. With all of that potential now in their grasp, the new 'behind the scenes' Board of Directors for the Uroboros Corporation hit the ground running at full speed. Dante was the first to prove himself among his allies, displaying the greatest skill when it came to finding and defeating any remaining rogue and powerful demons, later transforming them all into future templates for Devil Arms, as well as becoming an unyielding Beast-Tamer to any and all of the long-forgotten magical creatures of legend that Mundus had hidden away from the worlds.

What then shocked them all though, was Dante finding - and becoming - the first apprentice in untold ages to the mythical demonic blacksmith Muramasa himself, the arcane-infused master and Living Legend who crafted the first Muramasa blade, equaled only by the benevolent Masamune blade from the Living Legend sword-smith of the same name. Excelling in all of his lessons with the proud demon forge-master was not even thought to be possible. That this feat empowered all of his previously-collected Devil Arms, as well as his handguns Ebony and Ivory and his heirloom weapon to boot, was all gravy to him, and the smile that crossed his face when Muramasa looked him in the eye and said, _"Well done, apprentice. Now, make your mark out there."_ could have lit up the Sydney Grand Opera House.

XXXXXX

Vergil, on the other hand, with his rigid discipline and vaunted ability to shunt his emotions away from any task at hand, moved in a different, but predictable path: mastering the arcane. Once he had retrained and mastered his enhanced abilities, using both his own son and Dante to train against so that he would be at the utmost mastery of them, the eldest Son of Sparda went in search of the most elusive of titles: Grand Infernal Magus, the perfect synthesis of battle-tested warrior and accomplished sorcerer. The last one according to legends past had been Merlin himself, but ancient myths had also inferred that Merlin had also been a half-demon. With that in mind, and by using both Yamato and the time-warping technology developed by the Order of the Sword to his benefit, Vergil went in search of the greatest sorcerers in the history of Earth throughout time to complete his goal, ending with the afore-mentioned Merlin himself. When he finally returned to Earth and their well-protected base at Mt. Fuji moments ago, Vergil's knowledge of magic, mystical relics, numerous rituals that covered virtually anything in Earth's existence, and the vast fields of alchemy itself were at his beck and call, and as he had already told Dante, he had gained the prestigious title he so rightfully earned with all of his concentrated efforts, along with finally developing a solid grasp of human through his interactions with the legendary sorcerer who had served King Arthur and Camelot ages ago.

Lastly, Nero had become a wonder to both Dante and Vergil, especially once he had finished his master swordsman apprenticeship under Vergil's demanding tutelage. With his augmented Durandal blade Red Queen a worthy addition to his arsenal once it had been spiritually awakened and blooded during the battle with Mundus, and his long-overdue mastery over his Devil Bringer, the son of Vergil took up lessons with his wife Kyrie to master something long overlooked in the joined histories of the Human World and the Demon Realm: technomancy and arcane engineering. Pulled from the secret archives collected by the Order of the Sword - revealed to have been so vast that they were actually hidden away in deep catacombs far beneath the surface of Fortuna Island, - Nero and Kyrie soon found out that the arcane tech that the Demon Realm had begun to bring about mirrored several advanced concepts put forth both by leading people in many engineering fields on Earth, as well as theoretical concepts only mentioned and expanded upon in fiction, interactive games, and flights of fantasy. Still, like Dante and Vergil, with the enhancement to his abilities and his very being through the Force Edge, Nero took it all in with a smile on his face, and succeeded in bringing virtually all of them to bear with Uroboros' resources. That, in turn, allowed Nero to gain a new title for himself beyond that of a former Holy Knight of the Order of the Sword: that of Master Arcane Engineer among the descendants of Sparda.

XXXXXX

Even with all the time and effort the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight put into their newly chosen fields and their applications, they did not leave Trish, Lucia, Lady, or Kyrie behind. In the case of Trish and Lucia, though, the trio had asked both Lady and Kyrie to aid them in what they wished to accomplish: purging both Trish and Lucia of the tiny, remaining demonic taint of their creators. Mundus had, of course, created Trish's human form in the image of Dante's beloved mother Eva to distract and mislead him on Mallet Island, but had overlooked just how much the youngest Son of Sparda and his action would change his pawn inside and out. Her defying the Demon Emperor, and eventually aiding Dante in sending Mundus back to the Demon Realm, had never even been considered as possible in his three eyes. It went without saying as well that, if she wanted, Trish could indeed enjoy intimate relations with a chosen partner, but she would never be able to have any offspring of her own. Mundus' machinations in creating her as only a pawn, and never a true acolyte to him, had left her barren for all time.

Lucia, the lithe red-headed warrior who had joined them after the events on Dumary Island that had given the group the Uroboros Corporation in its entirety, had been hard pressed to leave her past behind before she ever considered becoming Vergil's wife. Her personal and shocking revelation as an artificial 'defective' Secretary demon created by the dark sorcerer Arius - thrown aside due to the very unexpected emergence of a true personality - and who had been secretly saved from being discarded thanks to Matier and the Vie de Marli, had never truly been forgotten by Lucia. Even after defeating Arius, and the Argosax-possessed version of the defeated sorcerer, she still harbored doubts about her place with the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight son of the Dark Slayer. Just like Trish, sadly, the dark rituals and forbidden magic Arius had wrought in creating the Secretary-type of artificial demon had also left her with no chance of ever having children. Both allies of the Sons of Sparda shared their pain with each other first, and then with Dante, Vergil, Nero, Lady, and Kyrie supporting them, would later lead them all to discuss a very strong possibility to change all that. Before that could happen, though, the cleansing of their minds, bodies, and souls had to be accomplished first.

Lady and Kyrie quickly prepared themselves for what was to come, thanks to them both being truly pure souls touched but untainted by darkness. With Vergil's newly accumulated arcane knowledge before his Magus trials, Dante and Nero acting as arcane conduits, Lady's heritage as a descendant of the priestess who aided Sparda in the past, and Kyrie's angelic voice filling the ritual chamber that was prepared for the rite to occur in, their task succeeded in purging any and all remaining traces of Mundus and Arius from Trish and Lucia completely. That both Lady and Kyrie would benefit through the rite of having their lifespans increased substantially through benevolent means, and without a hint of demonic influence, was so much more than they could hope for. Vergil's subtle wink at Dante assured the younger Son of Sparda that his older brother knew exactly what was going to result from the rite, and he could only grin as Trish and Lucia were congratulated by Lady and Kyrie after the ritual's completion. Nero gave them both thumbs-up. At the end of the ritual, though, something did change for the group: Trish's appearance. For so long, she had worn the image that had been the face of the mother of the Sons of Sparda; now, she actually looked far more similar to the appearance of Gloria, the disguise she had worn when infiltrating the Order of the Sword that had served the diabolical 'Vicar' of the Order, Sanctus, before Dante and Nero had brought him and his devious schemes crashing down.

Gone was the free flowing golden hair that Trish once possessed on her head; now, it was more of a platinum-blonde color, more in keeping with the color of Gloria's own short bob cut, and now was kept in a long braided ponytail from the nape of her neck down to her lower back. Her skin tone had darkened slightly, but her eyes remained the same, and both Dante and Vergil could easily sense she was still their friend and ally. As for Lady and Kyrie, they were able to remain alongside their friends for much longer than a normal human would have been able to. Lady became far closer to both Dante and Trish for those newly gained years, and Nero and Kyrie enjoyed a fruitful marriage far longer than the best couples could have ever hoped for. The ritual still could not grant Trish or Lucia the chance to have children, but Lady and Kyrie gladly agreed to have their own dormant eggs harvested by trusted physicians in the Order of the Sword and Vie de Marli so that the precious heritage in them all would one day carry the legacy of Sparda, his sons, and their allies to new and greater heights than ever before.

Sadly, though, the time did finally come for Lady to take her final bow from the stage, but the divine energies within her blood and noble soul remained behind in a special regenerating chunk of the legendary Philosopher's Stone. Created by Vergil for one of his lessons in advanced alchemy, the eldest Son of Sparda ensured that the feisty human with so many guns - and who had finally impressed him with her lifelong tenacity - would never be forgotten. Dante mourned the loss of his friend for weeks. No one but him and his allies ever knew that long before the end, Dante and Lady had been intimate, the iron-willed dark hunter finally accepting Dante and his dual nature into her closest confidence. The youngest Son of Sparda had cherished those special times just as much as his heirloom weapon and his half of his mother's amulet around his neck, and swore to himself he would never forget them for as long as fate saw fit to see him live on to do her memory proud.

XXXXXX

Shortly after Lady had finally passed on, Kyrie felt that her time, too, was also coming to an end, and knowing this, she soon took her husband away from their friends to enjoy one last grand journey to end all journeys. Nero accommodated her by actually flying them around the solar system in one of the newest space-capable vessels secretly constructed by Uroboros for the group, and their times spent up there in the space ways were the sweetest that they could have asked for before their time together had finally come to an end. When they returned to Earth, Nero carried his beloved wife down the ramp to the vast special garden that Vergil had personally ensured was ready for his humble and very special daughter-in-law. The eldest Son of Sparda was there, dressed in his best attire, and he gently touched Kyrie's head as he whispered, "Go in peace, blessed child. Thank you for making my son's life complete, and for enriching all of ours as well. You will be missed, and remembered, __always__." Gripping his son's shoulder with a nod, Vergil let them alone so that Nero could say goodbye. Like Dante before him, Nero mourned the passing of his wife for weeks on end, but thanked the stars above that their union and marriage had lasted for over four centuries.

With their group now reduced by two, the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight set out on a new quest: to find and retrieve what they both had felt needed to be found after their augmentation and elevation through the enriching power of the Force Edge….. the souls of their mother and father.

XXXXXX

Dante and Vergil had hoped for the longest time that the soul of their mother was indeed in heaven, having given her life to protect her sons in their childhood from the directed attack on their home from Mundus while their father had vanished from their world. But, divine messages sent to them from the spirits of Lady and Kyrie through some of the rescued and nurtured phoenix flocks they had freed from the shackles of Mundus told them that it was not so. The soul of their father was likely still imprisoned somewhere that his jailer felt they could never reach, but with the balanced power of Sparda now in them, Dante and Vergil - as well as Nero - quickly went to work to find out what had happened to their family since then. As Dante and Nero had surprisingly found and rescued Vergil from the vast in-between realm of Limbo at the same time they had gone after Mundus before he could mount a new demonic invasion of Earth - thanks to cryptic clues and signs painstakingly researched and investigated by Lucia and Trish, - the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight used that singular moment as a reference point in their exhaustive search for their beloved mother.

In the end, it paid off handsomely: Eva's spirit was indeed found in Limbo, cruelly left there by Mundus in order to torture Sparda for eternity from afar, and with an entire legion of succubae demons who amazingly treated her like a queen, but never allowed her to escape. Thankfully, with the aid of the former Guardian Nevan, the Succubus and Lightning Witch at their command in her form as Dante's demonic electric guitar, the trio literally shocked the entire legion of succubi by allowing Nevan's Devil Arm status and Dante's power to break the spells cast upon them by Mundus. In turn, the succubi all claimed Nevan as their new Sovereign Queen, and bestowed new titles upon the Sons of Sparda and the Holy Knight. Dante was recognized as Crown Prince for his actions in leading the charge to free them and his mother from the last grasps of the defeated Demon Emperor, while Vergil was proclaimed as High Regis for his command and control of their route to Eva. Nero was named High General and heir as Vergil's son, to which he simply shrugged his shoulders and looked at his father. "Hmm….. gotta' be a Wednesday." He stated, to which Dante and Vergil broke out in laughter.

XXXXXX

 _ _… Flashback …__

The Sons of Sparda slowly approached the large bench upon where the spirit of their mother had been placed upon so long ago by Mundus and his minions, Nero bringing up the rear, while Nevan - now temporarily restored to her demonic form, - brought the succubi legion to heel. Just as Dante and Vergil remembered her from so long ago, Eva was a shining beacon of love and acceptance of them all as they approached her. "My children; __my sons__ ; how I have longed to see and hold you once again after all these centuries." The Sons of Sparda wasted no time in kneeling down and hugging their mother with tear-filled eyes; her death had been the straw that had broken their family apart, and stood out as the turning point for the twins: for Dante to dedicate himself to hunting down all the vermin responsible for her death, and for Vergil to seek out how to increase his power without mercy to levels that would allow him to be just as powerful and unbeatable as their father had been in defeating Mundus. Now, all that was in the past, and they were at long last reunited with their mother.

Eva had then looked over them, and realized that Nero was also part of her family, to which she looked at her sons, and quickly determined who was his father with a shocked gasp. "Vergil…? Is he… your _son_?" She could barely whisper the words. "Is he…? Is he… my __grandson__ …?" Dante smiled at her, then gave his mother his signature thumbs-up as Vergil nodded in response to both questions and moved over enough for Nero to approach her. His Devil Bringer seemed to hum with firm approval and satisfaction as it neared one of its progenitors.

"Mother… be known to your grandson: Nero, born on the island of Fortuna, trained as a Holy Knight among the Order of the Sword there, a graduated swordsman from my tutelage, and accomplished Master Arcane Engineer." Vergil proudly proclaimed to Eva as Nero kneeled before Eva, and allowed her to touch his face with her hand. The Holy Knight could only smile through his tears as he hugged his grandmother for the first time, and Dante and Vergil held the opposite free hand of their mother as their family gained back half of what was taken from it so long ago.

With the mission to free their mother's soul nearly over, Vergil and Dante asked Eva if she wanted to wait with them until they had rescued their father from captivity, or if she wished to be freed at last to enter the heavenly gates above. Eva compromised: she allowed a 'soul echo' of herself to go with her sons and grandson to wait for when Sparda was freed, while her true soul would indeed go on to its eternal rest. The echo would keep everything that Eva was, and would allow her to know them all before it departed to rejoin her soul in the heavens with their father, once he, too, was freed. Vergil smiled at her request, then quickly brought forth a beautifully-carved bass cello from a well-crafted pocket dimension - woven into his overcoat's outer pocket by Nero - for her to leave her soul echo within. With kisses and hugs to her sons and grandson, wishing them all the best and showering them with her eternal love, Eva's soul echo took up residence within the cello, and her true soul finally escaped the confines of Limbo. As they watched the brilliant glowing spirit of Eva rejoice in her freedom at last, Dante spoke out loud, and his brother and nephew answered in kind, while Nevan and her new loyal succubae legions awaited the commands from their lords.

"One down." The crimson red-cloaked half-demon said.

"One to go." His royal blue-clad twin replied.

"Let's get to it." The grandson of the Legendary Dark Knight finished for them all.

 _…_ _ _End Flashback…__

[ __Still lost in past memories, my noble Lords and Lady?__ ] An electronic voice hummed out from an overhead intercom in the sitting room, and Dante responded with a dry snort while Vergil and Lucia chuckled at him being named one of the 'Lords' in question. "No, Praetos; I was just chillin' here while I was waiting for these two to get back home, and now that they are, we can get the next phase of our own preparations started. Quite sobering, if you think about it: me being patient, and that's saying a lot coming from me, considering how I used to think about my own place in all of this." The mentioned 'Praetos' acknowledged his noble Lord's response by humming out a tone of acceptance, while Dante turned away from the window, picking up Rebellion and slinging it onto his back before heading over to a heavy metal door intricately marked with glowing, flowing runic script, Vergil and Lucia getting up and following after him as one.

Looking at it for a moment, then over at his brother, Dante then placed his hand on one of the two large doorknobs of the metal door, while Vergil took hold of the other. Both doorknobs suddenly glowed brightly before encompassing the 'Lords' and the present Lady in their midst within the same light the door emitted! The trio was gone from the room just as quickly as the light faded. Reappearing in a vast library-like chamber, with numerous shelves and desks filled or covered with dusty tomes and ancient books of legend, Dante, Vergil, and Lady walked together down a set of stairs to a tall, well-lit desk, where a massive onyx black leather-bound tome sat closed, locked, and waiting for its masters to return and to soak up its knowledge. Cracking his neck in both directions, Dante moved to the waiting, plush chair by the desk and pushed it back so that they could all stand before the imposing tome. He then reached out and placed both hands on the black tome before quickly speaking out loud to begin his next task.

"Know that I am Dante, Son of Sparda and Eva; brother to the firstborn Vergil, uncle to Vergil's son and heir Nero, my only nephew; inheritor of the Legendary Dark Knight's will through the Force Edge. As Lord of this Infernal Manor, infused with Limbo's essence and the powers of the Demon Realm itself, grant me access to the Grimoire of Sparda, written by his own soul even in eternal exile." In response, the entire tome gave off a powerful glow, prompting the now-identified Dante to channel his demonic energies into the locked Grimoire. A deep resounding gong sounded out through the dark library, signifying that the tome's first lock had been opened from the infusion of the devil hunter's demonic essence. Dante stepped back, allowing Vergil to step forth and go through a similar ritual to disengage the tome's remaining immense protections.

"Know that I am Vergil, firstborn son of Eva and my father, the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda; father to my son and Heir, Nero, Holy Knight of the Order of the Sword; inheritor of Sparda's legacy through the Force Edge." Vergil spoke in even tones just as Dante had. "As Lord of this Infernal Manor, infused with Limbo's essence and the arcane powers of the Netherworld, grant me access to the Grimoire of Sparda, written by his own soul even in eternal exile." A second, powerful gong sounded out as Vergil channeled his energies into the vast tome, and the two devil hunters who had destroyed the Demon Emperor of Hell, the evil Mundus, imprisoned in the Demon Realm by their father so long ago, watched as the entire book shuddered under the matured power of the Sons of Sparda, then finally unlocked its onyx clasp in recognition of its only two owners. The thick pages of the Grimoire began to turn of their own accord, flipping rapidly to the last bookmark left by Dante in the tome, and only slowed down when it reached that point. As the pages fell down within the tome's covers and became inert once more, Dante stared down at the inscribed sigils clearly visible on the page. In the daemon tongue of old, listed there by a shadowy picture of Sparda in his true demonic form, was a complex location and transport ritual that would finally take them to wherever Sparda's soul had been kept hidden away for over seven hundred years, and allowing them to finally set him free.

"Huh…." Dante mused at he looked at the ritual's details with Vergil and Lucia. "… and we only had to review and research specific events of importance in our lives over a hundred times before this grumpy old lump of kindling was able to finally find the old man. Sheesh; that deserves a knuckle sandwich if there was ever a need for one." Dante mused to himself as he set his shoulders and loudly cracked his back by bending backwards. "How about you, Verge? Gonna' give the old man a piece of your mind when we all find him and pull him out of the hole Mundus threw him in?" Even though Dante had been speaking to the empty air above him, he knew that his older brother had heard every word.

"Remonstrating our displeasure with him now, Dante, would be an exercise in futility." The Dark Slayer and Grand Infernal Magus stated to his sibling as Lucia pulled out a slim computer tablet from her back hip pouch, powered it up, and quickly looked up some details of the ritual's components online, while Vergil lifted up a hand and conjured a shimmering globe of the Earth in his palm. "The ritual needs to be completed….. here." Vergil motioned to the globe as he spoke, prompting Dante and Vergil to look at it in turn. "Norway: specifically, the northernmost tip of the archipelago of Svalbard." Lucia shook her head as she continued tapping on her tablet, while Dante frowned at all that snow for a moment before grinning at his brother.

"Well, look at it this way, Verge…" Dante said as he cracked his knuckles. "Cerberus and the spirit wolves were getting antsy over the last century or two. We'll be in good company, right?" At that response, Vergil looked over at Dante and gave him the 'evil eye.' "Hey, blame pops, not me!" Dante continued, even as he began laughing. Shaking his head, Vergil looked over at Lucia, who looked up at him and nodded her head, her research and planning done for now.

"I have a ritual to prepare for now, and you, Dante, have some logistics planning with Lucia and Trish to complete so that we can get there, find Father, and get out of there as soon as possible." Vergil stated as he closed the onyx tome on the table before them, its protections reactivating while the eldest son of Sparda dismissed Dante's resulting pout as pointless. "You can grouse all you like about having had to go through all the intensive schooling and training in every area that Master Muramasa put you through during your apprenticeship with him, but it has paid off in spades. Let's resume our discussions later when Nero comes back later this evening for our meal. Sound good?" The elder of the two Devil Hunters stated as he prepared his mind for what was to come. Dante finally nodded and began to head out of the library, grumbling under his breath about uppity magic users skipping out on the manual labor of the day. Vergil gave a half-smile to Lucia, who grinned back at him as they both followed Dante out of the vast library and back into the house proper.

XXXXXX

 _Chapter Three is finally on the books, but can you all guess what is going to happen next as 'Foundations' continues on in building the ground floor of my future stories with it? Let me know what you all think and where you all believe I will go with this one. Ciao!_


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